The Obama administration and the fossil fuel industry are pushing Congress to approve a Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement with Japan and 10 other Asia-Pacific countries that would ramp up global warming. Friends of the Earth is working in a united campaign with Sierra Club, 350.org and other environmental groups to counter the dirty energy companies by educating the public and members of Congress about the climate threat posed by the TPP.
The…
On February 3 and 4 across the nation and around the world, Friends of the Earth, Flush & the TPP, the Citizens Trade Campaign and other allies coordinated rallies to protest the signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal in New Zealand.
From Washington D.C. to Auckland, thousands demanded the legislative rejection of a TPP deal that gives corporations more power, ramps up climate destruction and increases environmental and health risks.
To read more about…
The below is an abridged version of the Medium article "TPP in Trouble." Read the full version here.
On Wednesday, July 29 almost 400 Hawaiians and visitors from around the globe gathered on the beach in Kaanapali on the island of Maui. They came for a rally, which Friends of the Earth co-sponsored, calling for a stop to negotiations between 12 Pacific countries led by the United States that opened that day with…
Unwilling to debate opponents like Senator Elizabeth Warren on the substance of trade deals, President Obama has reduced his push to get trade promotion authority to morally righteous declarations and to flying members of Congress around on Air Force One. Critics, he laments, are quite simply "wrong." When explaining his rationale, the president resorts to platitudes about negotiating the “most progressive trade deals in history.” These “21st century trade deals,” the president insists,…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At the urging of President Obama, Speaker John Boehner and Congressman Paul Ryan are asking the U.S. House of Representatives to approve “Fast Track” or trade promotion authority legislation today. If approved, Fast Track would expedite congressional approval of two massive trade deals without amendment or proper consideration. The historical record shows that it is almost impossible for Congress to reject any trade deal under Fast Track procedural rules.
The Trans Atlantic…
The bruising battle over President Obama’s push for the power to negotiate two potentially far-reaching trade pacts will shift this week to the House, where the White House faces entrenched opposition from Democrats and the stirring of rebellion from the Republicans’ right flank.
Obama’s Trade Deal Faces Bipartisan Peril in the House
-New York Times 5/31/2015
Environmental activists are throwing Rep. Earl Blumenauer under the zero-emission, biodiesel-fueled bus for openly embracing broader trade-promotion authority.
Friends of the Earth is going after the Oregon Democrat both here and back home in Portlandia for endorsing a polarizing “fast-track” plan the eco-warriors perceive to be a bum deal.
Friends of the Earth Out to Bury Earl Blumenauer
-Roll Call “Heard on the Hill,” 5/18/2015
A wide-reaching trade agreement between the United States and several Asian nations could have catastrophic repercussions for climate change, including giving corporations the power to sue governments that try to limit polluting industries, environmental groups say.
In order to avoid dangerous climate change, scientists estimate that 80 percent of the world’s fossil fuels need to remain in the ground. But coal, natural gas, and oil left in the ground means profits left on the table…
Through the Friends of the Earth International network, we have been collaborating with Friends of the Earth Europe and all the Friends of the Earth national affiliates across the continent to influence public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic by exposing the corrupt influence Big Oil, Wall Street, global agricultural giants, and other selfish interest groups pushing for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade deal between the U.S. and EU. This is an…
Fast Track trade promotion legislation is expected to be introduced in Congress the second week of April. Global corporations are calling in all their chits from massive campaign contributions to both parties in the hope of rushing the bill through Congress in the next few weeks. Fast Track would grant President Obama power to sign two sweeping trade deals -- even before Congress has a chance to vote on them. Chemical manufacturers, global food and…